Sushmita Dutta
An athlete turns to prostitution for want of money. Little kids at traffic signals beg for survival. Thousands die every year due to malnutrition. But we are still 'celebrating’ our 62nd Independence Day with pomp and grandeur. For 62 years we have been free from foreign domination, but the biggest question our nation faces today is, are we free in the true sense of the word? Are we free from that evil twin of poverty and population?
According to latest statistics, the population of India has grown from 345 million in 1951 to around 1.16 billion in May 2009. The growth is huge at 16 to 17 million per year, having severe social and economic implications.
India is considered to be the house of one-third of the world’s poor and this fact is highlighted at various international fora - despite our million other achievements.
The other problems that have made the situation worse are unemployment, lack of health amenities and lack of fulfillment of basic needs like water, food and shelter. But the bigger issue is that these problems were there on the first day after independence and still remain.
A few statistics may show that the percentage of poor has come down, but poverty is out there still in huge numbers.
A recent “Global Economic Prospects” report projects that one-fourth of India’s population would be below extreme poverty line living on less than $1.25 a day by 2015. The issue of poverty is directly linked with population explosion. The more it will grow the graver the poverty scenario will grow.
The main reasons behind the rapid rise of the population and hence poverty are very varied and sometimes surprising.
1. Male Child
This is a shameful aspect of life that exists in our society. Many people, for the want of a boy child, keep on producing kids, not even thinking what they would feed to the innumerable mouths. This results in more people and less opportunities, hence creating a vicious circle.
2. Illiteracy
The fact that a very large number of Indian population has never been to a school and thus lacks the necessary knowledge, keeps them away from knowing the demerits of a large family. Lack of awareness about family planning makes this problem bigger. Not only that, lack of vocational training leads to high unemployment rates. Folk in rural areas are unable to understand what education will do for them.
3. More hands, more money
The uneducated poor people have to work very hard to meet their ends. They feel that if they have more kids, the number of people available for earning money will increase which in turn will make their lives easier. But since there is a limit to opportunities as also most such jobs are low paying, the poor are unable to come out of their pathetic condition.
4. Misconceptions about contraceptives
Many men still don’t believe that contraceptives should be used. Most of the women in rural India don’t have any knowledge that something like contraceptives even exists! Moreover large masses live with the primeval mindset that children are the gift from God and that they must not come in their way of birth.
5. Cheapest mode of entertainment
Sex is the cheapest mode of entertainment among the poverty-ridden. But since they do not practice safe sex, the population is rapidly increasing. The current Health Minister of course thinks that watching TV will solve the problem. Only most do not have a TV!
Population explosion has two main side-effects; if one is poverty then the other is unemployment. The dark cloud of unemployment has engulfed both the rural and urban sectors for a very long period of time now. But it is not that the government isn’t doing anything about it.
From time to time there have been very popular government employment schemes, which have helped a lot of people get their livelihood.
i) Jawahar Rojgar Yojana
In 1989, a unique employment scheme was devised by the government. The main motive of this yojana was to be able to recruit unemployed and under-employed people in the rural sector. This scheme turned out to be huge hit. It helped generate lot of jobs for the youth.
ii) NREGA
NREGA is an exceptionally ingenious employment scheme, which empowers everyone at least a hundred days of employment willing to do unskilled manual work at the minimum wage. NREGA aims at tackling two big issues-rural development and employment. It has been a very successful scheme and achieved its objective in many states.
But inspite of such generous schemes by the government the demon of unemployment is still at large. That’s because the demon has become so huge in shape that it not possible for the government alone to tackle it. Everyone must do his bit. Big corporate giants have to realize that they have a moral responsibility towards the nation. They have to lend a helping hand to the government to overcome this problem by using more labour intensive methods, while government should allow hire and fire policies so that trade unionism doesn’t become a problem.
A very sorry example of poverty and no work was in news a few days ago. Nisha Shetti, a national volleyball player and high jumper, was caught in a prostitution ring from Chhattisgarh. Her poverty, unemployment and husband’s death had forced her into sex-trade. What was more pathetic was that she could not even get a bail for herself for want of a mere Rs. 10,000. If the gems of India are in such condition, the Aam Aadmi can but only imagine his plight.
The fact that nothing consequential has happened since 1947, is ‘Dharavi’, Asia’s biggest slum. It stands as a black mark in the face of the financial capital of India, Mumbai.
On this 62nd year of our independence let us everyone pledge to get rid of these problems that have been looming large over our country. Let everyone do a small bit and we shall see that it will make a huge difference.
First Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2009, 20:43